Perfectly Not
by WaterFront3000
Summary: Family, school, relationship, gangs, drugs, emotions, everyone has these problems. Gumball pushes through them all as he tries to get by high school without killing anyone... or himself.
1. Good Morning

**Hello, everyone. I'm Waterfront3000. Today, I bring you another story from my brain to hopefully bring you all enjoyment. This one is a bit of a turn from some of the other stuff I did in the past, but it's just as good, I assure you. Letting you all know, Author's Notes (A/N) will be redirected to a forum on this site to keep everything tight. Just hit 'Forums', then go to '**Gumball's Hollow Ponds**' and it'll be pinned on top. Also, I'm working on some cover art for this, and you'll see it later on.**

**And now, without further ado, I bring you my next story.**

**Perfectly Not**

**~O~X~O~**

The sun, it's rays slowly passing through the glass window and into the small bedroom, bringing light to the dim place. A small clock sitting on a nightstand by a bunk bed went off at exactly 6:00 AM. It's high-pitched speaker went off, and continued to beep several times. A paw came out from under the blankets on the bed the stand sat next to, blindly searching for the alarm clock, hitting multiple objects as it did so.

Finally, it found what it was looking for and pressed the button on top, silencing the irritating noise. The hand slowly slid back under the covers, gripping them tightly and pulling some closer in with it.

A quiet 'yawn' came from the top bunk. There, a little girl in her pajamas was rubbing the sleep away from her eyes as she slowly pushed off the blanket from her legs and quietly climbed down. She walked up to the window with a desk sitting next to it and stared outside. It was sunny, yet it was also windy. Bringing in the cold fall-time air with it and some leaves. People were already raking yards and bundled up for the weather.

She turned around, walking back over to the bed, she tapped on a fishbowl sitting on the nightstand, right next to the clock. The fish inside opened one eye before smiling at the girl.

"Time to get up, Darwin," the girl said.

The fish slowly rose up from the fish bow with it's long legs, stretching out and yawning.

"Mornin', Anais."

They both yawned again before Anais walked next to the bed, poking the large lump covered in blankets on the bottom bunk bed.

"Gumball, time to get up."

There was no response. Not even a movement. She poked again, but a bit more harder.

"Gumball?"

Still no response. But it turned over. Away from her.

"Gumball, get up." She kept poking the lump. Darwin leaned over from the nightstand and started poking it too. They both had a rhythm with it as they continued poking the lump. It twitched with ever poke they gave it.

_'Why... why the hell do they have to do this every, freaking, morning?'_

"UghhaaAAAHHHG! **STOP! ****STOP IT! I'M AWAKE!**"

The sheets flew off the bed and across the room. The two backed up as an angry, furious cat huffed deeply. He shot the two a nasty look as he sat back down on the bed slowly. His tail was moving back and fourth quickly. A sign that he had been pissed off by someone.

"Okay, geez, Gumball, don't have a heart atta-"

"What did I tell you two about poking me when I'm asleep?" asked Gumball, still very angry.

"Well, we have school, you know," said Anais. She placed her hands on her hips.

"I don't care about school. I told _both _of you to not poke me when I'm sleeping." Gumball jumped off the bed, standing in front of the two.

"Chill out, dude." Darwin rose his fins in front of himself. "No need to get angry about anything."

"Well, I told you two about this, so you both should have known it would have pissed me off, so you can't blame anyone but _yourselves_."

Gumball went over to his closet and grabbed a few things out of it before leaving the room. Both Anais and Darwin stared at each other silently for a moment, before they both sighed at the same time.

"And once again, Gumball wakes up in a crabby mode for the milli-"

"I can hear you two in there!" yelled Gumball.

"...millionth and _one_ time," whispered Darwin.

"He's never gonna change his attitude, is he?" Anais rolled her eyes.

"Not until Mom beats it out of his butt."

They both quietly giggled as they grabbed a few things before stepping out of the bedroom. They saw Gumball with a towel and some clothes standing by the bathroom door in his blue boxers, waiting for whoever was inside to come out. He had an annoyed look on his face and simply stared at the ground. Darwin and Anais both walked next to him, trying to ignore the look he was giving them.

Silence filled the room, (save for the shower running in the bathroom,) so Darwin thought it would be a good idea to make some kind of conversation between the three.

"So, did everyone finish up that assignment?" asked Darwin.

"Oh, I had that thing done the moment it was handed out. Essays are easy as Pi. The math term, I mean," said Anais. "How about you, Gumball?"

Gumball rolled his eyes. "Yeah..."

"Yeah?" Darwin raised an eyebrow. "What does _'Yeah'_ mean?"

"Yeah. Just yeah." Gumball rolled his eyes again.

"You don't look confident about it," said Anais.

"Look, I did the freaking assignment, okay? God, question me about everything..."

"Gumball, it was just a question." Darwin crossed his fins.

"Well, I don't see you answering it."

"FYI, Gumball, I finished my assignment last night." Darwin smiled, feeling good about himself that he got it done on time.

"Oh, joy, you placed a bunch of flags on a picture of the country, good for you."

Darwin went silent after that.

"Gumball!" exclaimed Anais. "That's not-"

"Nice? You weren't nice to me this morning. And you both still aren't acting-"

"Hold on a second," interrupted Darwin. "What did you just say?"

"I said you placed a bunch of flags on a picture of America and, what? wrote some dumb version of it's history?" Gumball rolled his eyes again at his brother.

"...Dude, that was next week's assignment."

"...What?" Gumball faced Darwin.

"Gumball, you were supposed to write an essay about a french novel this week. The country assignment is next week."

Gumball remained silent for a few moments, before throwing up his arms and saying, "So what?"

"W-what?" asked Anais.

"So, I got the assignment done early. In fact, I got it done before any of you two started." Gumball chuckled to himself, all while his siblings mouths hung agape.

"What about _this _week's assignment?" asked Darwin.

"I'll do it later."

"Gumball, the submission date is **TODAY**. You have to hand it in when we get to school." Anais looked disappointed and downright annoyed with her brother.

"And Mom is going to kill you when she finds out," added Darwin.

"Oh, geez, you know, I saw an ad on T.V. for a sale on hearing aids, you two should really go check it out," said Gumball with sarcasm all over. "I said I will do it later."

"Gumball, there is no way you can do that before the submission deadline."

"You guys just don't get how I work." Gumball pulled out a notepad from his towel. He took a pencil inside and started writing down something.

"Dude, what are you doing?" asked Darwin.

"Finishing my essay."

Both of his siblings slapped themselves in the face. Their father, Richard walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed and ready for the day.

"Morning, kids!" said Richard to his children. They all smiled at him, except for Gumball, who continued to write.

"Gumball?" Richard looked down at his son. "What are you doing?"

"School stuff, Dad." Gumball didn't look away from his notepad.

"You didn't finish that diorama?"

"No, Dad, he didn't finish the essay," said Anais, shooting a nasty look at Gumball. He ignored it.

"Won't his Mother be upset at him?"

"Won't I be upset at what?"

Everyone, (But Gumball,) turned around to the staircase. There at the end stood Nicole. She had a bag in her hand and had one eyebrow raised. Anais and Darwin knew there was going to be a beating.

"Um, Mom, uh... Gumball, uh..." Darwin didn't know if he should say it, standing right next to Gumball, still writing.

Nicole had an angry look on her face now. She moved past everyone and stood in front of Gumball. She looked down at him as he continued to write. He seemed to be completely unaware his mother was standing before him.

"Gumball," said Nicole bluntly. "What are you doing?"

"School stuff," replied Gumball.

"Gumball, you were supposed to finish that assignment a few days ago. What did you do last night?"

"School stuff," repeated Gumball. Nicole rolled her eyes and took the notepad away from him. She knelt down in front of him and placed a hand on his chin.

"Pay attention to me, Gumball." said Nicole with anger in her voice. "What were you doing last night?"

"I was grounded." Gumball looked away.

"That's no reason to skip your homework."

"In fact, it's a good reason to work on it," muttered Anais. Darwin nodded.

"I did do my assignment, on the computer. But since I was grounded, I didn't get a chance to print it out." Gumball closed his eyes, not wanting to look at any of his family.

"Gumball, you could have asked me," said Nicole in defense.

"I did, twice, but you didn't want to talk to me, neither did anyone else." Gumball now sounded hurt. Darwin and Anais rolled their eyes, Richard had a frown on his face hearing it and Nicole sighed. She looked at her husband.

"Richard, you go downstairs. Breakfast will be ready in a bit." Richard smiled, hopping downstairs.

"Darwin, Anais, get washed up." She stood up and looked at Gumball. "I am giving you permission to use the computer once, and only once, to print out your assignment. Understand?"

Gumball nodded, still keeping his eyes closed.

"Alright then, breakfast will be ready in a bit." Nicole walked back downstairs. Darwin motioned for Anais to step in the bathroom. She went inside, leaving her two brothers alone.

"...You okay, dude?" asked Darwin.

"No."

"...So, wait a second... If your assignment was on the computer, what about what you said with next week's assignment?"

_'You freaking idiot,'_ thought Gumball. "I told you, I already finished it."

"Seems weird for you to get your homework done early."

"Like anyone would care if I passed it or not." Gumball turned around and stepped in his room, quietly closing the door behind him. Darwin sighed. He had no idea if he should feel guilty or disappointed at Gumball.

Ever since he turned thirteen, Gumball had slowly started to change. He was never as loud or playful as he used to be. He would always keep to himself and spend much of his time alone somewhere.

When he turned fourteen, anger was thrown into the mix. He seemed to hate every living thing on the planet and got easily annoyed with someone even when they just talked to him. Strangely, as his anger increased, his grades did as well. An afternoon when he got back from school, he was swearing because his foot had been ran over by a bicycle, (which was his fault,) yet in his hand was his report card with an A plus on one test.

His family didn't know how to feel about it, but soon, the anger made the grades forgettable. His mother didn't think Gumball would turn out this way, then again, neither did anyone else. His friends slowly started to hate him, in fact at one point, it seemed like the whole world wanted to avoid Gumball.

Darwin thought about talking to him one on one again, but the previous conversation changed his mind. He would give him some space to (hopefully,) cool down a bit.

Anais stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed. She waved to Darwin and walked downstairs. Darwin smiled at her as he went in the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

**~O~X~O~**

He silently watched as the last piece of paper slowly slid out from the printer. He grabbed the stack of paper, walking over to his backpack and shoving them inside. Gumball then walked back to the computer, pressing the power button and watching as the screen flickered before shutting off completely.

He thought about what had happened earlier. The conversation had poked at his nerves greatly, and now, Gumball felt he was going to have a break-down soon. He sighed, slipping off his boxers and wrapping his towel around his waist. He went over to the door and peeked out of it. The bathroom door was wide open, meaning he could go in now.

He quickly ran inside and closed the door behind him. He turned on the water, slipped off his towel and jumped in the tub. He fell to his knees as he allowed himself to cry. His sobs were drowned out by the running shower head, and his tears slipped away with the running water down the drain.

After a few minutes of crying, Gumball wiped away his tears and tried calming down a bit. He grabbed a bottle of soap, poured some in his fur and started scrubbing away. He got behind his ears and under his feet and the rest of his body, but stopped upon reaching his lower area. He could feel himself getting aroused, as he easily was nowadays, and thought something over.

He sighed, sitting on the tub floor, trying to 'help' himself. He didn't talk about it out loud, but Gumball thought this was the only peaceful thing in his life. He would have stayed all day if he could, but he only had time for one go as it was Monday and had to get to school. One was enough for him anyway, as he could go again when he got back.

Still being timed, he shut off the water and stepped out of the tub, continuing his little moment as he dried himself off with a towel. He looked at himself in the mirror for a moment. His fur was the same color, but it was noticeably darker. It wasn't completely dark, but from a distance, someone could tell it changed over the years. There was also more hair on his head, not going over his eyes, and he had more fur on his crotch. It was more darker than everywhere else, but then again, no one would really know about that.

He looked at his own eyes. They were a bit red, but nothing too bad. His thoughts drifted away as he finished up with his alone time, nearly falling over on the floor as he did. Letting out a cross between a long 'Ah' and a sigh, Gumball pulled himself together and got dressed. He wore a slightly bigger blue sweater, along with a darker pair of jeans. His other sweater and pants were stored away for the summer months, as they were more thinner and wouldn't stand up to the fall weather. Let alone winter.

He looked at the mirror one last time. His face was busing from his previous act, but shrugged it off. No one would know. He walked out of the bathroom and downstairs, eying a clock on the wall as he went to eat breakfast. It read '_6:46_'. He would only have time to eat, as the bus would arrive soon.

He walked up to the table where his family was already eating. Anais and Darwin only looked at him once for a moment, as expected. Richard was focused solely on his food, and Nicole was a bit of a mix of both. He sat down in between Darwin and his mother and looked at his plate. A stack of waffles, still warm with some butter on top.

"Did you print out your assignment?" asked Nicole.

"Yeah, I did," said Gumball, grabbing the syrup.

"Good. Just remember, you're still grounded from the computer when you get back." Nicole took another bite of her food, eying Gumball.

"I know..." Gumball poured the syrup on his waffles. For a moment, he looked like he was going to drown them.

"So, kids, any plans after school?" asked Richard, shoving another waffle in his mouth.

"Oh, not much. Probably watch some T.V. and-"

"Darwin, the T.V. is still broken," said Nicole. "Remember?"

"Oh, yeah..." Darwin sighed, staring at Gumball for a moment.

"The T.V. repair man will be here to fix it tomorrow in the afternoon." Nicole took another bite out of his food. She looked over at Gumball.

"...What?"

"Oh, nothing," said Nicole.

"Look, okay, I broke it and I'm sorry." Gumball shoved his face full with more of his food.

"Gumball, that's not why I'm looking at you. You already apologized about seven times yesterday." Nicole recalled two days ago when Gumball broke the T.V. He didn't care that day when it happened, but the next night, he wouldn't stop apologizing for it to everyone after the looks he was given. Especially by his father.

"Then why did you give me a look?" asked Gumball. Darwin and Anais knew it was starting up.

"Your face."

"...My what?"

"Your face. It's all red."

Gumball sat his fork down and placed his hand on his cheeks. He didn't think it would show so easily.

"It's fine," Gumball said, sensing he could start sweating any second.

"Are you absolutely sure?" asked Anais.

"Yes, it's fine, really." Gumball tried calming down a bit. Thankfully, everyone else dropped the subject.

"As long as you're not sick or anything. Remember, you have chores when you get home."

"Alright, mom..." Gumball's mind felt more at ease now.

_'Thank god they stopped talking about it...'_

"Wait, why do we need a T.V. repair man when we can get a new one?" asked Darwin.

_'God, **DAMMIT!**'_ Gumball sank lower in his seat.

"Because our old T.V. is just fine, Darwin."

"Mom, not to be any way, but uh, Gumball broke the glass tube." Anais took a bite from her food, her plate completely empty now. Gumball closed his eyes at hearing those words. "How is that fixable?"

Nicole thought about it for a moment. The T.V. was old, and they could use the money from the repair man to buy one similar to the last one.

"I guess we could get a new one." Everyone but Gumball smiled. "On one condition."

"What is it?" everyone said.

"As long as _someone _helps pay for it."

Everyone blinked before turning to face Gumball. He kept eating his waffles, fully aware everyone was staring at him.

"...Allowance... right?" Gumball asked with food in his mouth.

"Yes, Gumball."

"Alright." Gumball nodded at his mother. "I have fifteen dollars... and five cents." He pulled the money out of his pocked and handed it to his mother. He then continued to eat his food quietly.

"Thank you, Gumball." Nicole nodded at her son.

After a few more minutes of silent eating, the three children took their plates and sat them in the kitchen sink, before grabbing their bags and stepping outside, waiting for the bus to arrive. They waved goodbye (except for Gumball,) to their father, now sleeping on the couch. They all stepped on the sidewalk and waited for the bus to pick them up. They saw their mother getting in her car and going to work. She waved at them and they waved back at her. (Like before, except for Gumball.)

When she drove off, the three of them stood silently. Gumball was looking up at the sky. Some clouds drifted by in the wind slowly. He thought about them for a moment. Could a cloud come down on the street? Maybe take him to a far away place? He wondered what it would be like if you could lay on a cloud. How it would feel, how sleeping would be...

How sex would be.

"Gumball. Earth to Gumball, respond." Darwin poked his shoulder, snapping him out of his daydreaming.

"What did I tell you this morning?" asked Gumball, irritated.

"The bus is here."

Gumball turned and saw the bus pulled up in front of them. Darwin and Anais stepped in while Gumball stared blankly at it. Not sure what was going on.

"Yo, kid, you getting in?" the bus driver, a large beetle said.

Gumball shook his head and stepped on the bus. The door closed behind him and slowly drove off from the house. Gumball looked around for an empty seat. There were some, but sadly, people were next to them.

Tobias was alone, making funny noises behind Carmen and Alan. He couldn't handle his stupidity right now. Further down was Sarah, writing in her sketchbook. He knew he would be eyed completely if he sat next to her. Jamie was also alone, but he couldn't handle her crap now. Finally, there was Teri. The germ freak. He thought she was the only one tolerable now. His brother and sister were at the back with an empty seat, but he didn't want to deal with them due to this morning's events.

He sighed, walking over to where Teri was sitting and sat down next to her. She looked at him.

"What on earth are you doing?" asked Teri.

"Sitting, what the hell is wrong with that." Gumball rubbed his eyes. He felt a bit tired.

"No, you're touching your face with your hands. Do you have any clue where they've been today?"

"Yes, on my arms. That's how its been for about... forever." Gumball rolled his eyes, sinking into his seat more.

"Do you know how many germs can enter your body by touching your face with your hands alone? There's so many things that can transmit germs through you-"

"Okay, first off, shut the hell up," spat Gumball. Teri moved back. "Second, for your information, I took a shower this morning, so there is pretty much no chance I could have gotten something."

"Even if you take a shower, there is still a chance of getting an infection from something!"

"Name one. One thing that could get me sick." Gumball rolled his eyes again. He knew she couldn't think of anything.

"...Oh, I know one thing."

Gumball chuckled. "Oh really, you know of one?"

"Yes, and it's all over your face."

"...Excuse me?"

"Your face shows somewhat of a rather large amount of redness. Which is more than likely blushing. You also have lots of fur covering you, meaning you would have had to have done something quite... intense, to cause a blush like that."

Gumball's eyes were wide. "What?"

Teri had a smug grin on her face. "Oh, I know what it is. You were _mas-_"

"**SHHHHH!**" Gumball brought a finger up on his own lips. Whispering, "No I wasn't, Shut up!"

"Not so smug now, Gumball?" Teri chuckled. "Also, your fluids contain so many germs, that I wouldn't put your finger on your mouth... Unless, that is, if you like the tast-"

"Stop! Shut up!" Gumball backed away from her. "We're on the bus! People can hear us!"

"Well, you should have thought about that before you sat next to me. Oh, and don't even try to say you didn't do it, because that outburst you had just now says otherwise." Teri huffed and scooted away from Gumball. He went silent, looking down at the bus floor.

_'Note to self: stay the hell away from this bitch...'_

The bus slowly pulled up to the school. The bus doors slowly opened as students jumped off and proceeded inside the building. Gumball was the last one to jump off, not at all pleased about another hellish day.

Almost two years ago, Gumball slowly moved on into high school. He remembered being so scarred of the change, because he was the first one out of his whole class to go. He remembered the look on his family's faces when they heard how fast he was going. Nicole cried, Richard continued to eat, and Darwin and Anais spent the whole night trying to figure out how he did it.

If you asked him, Gumball would simply say, "I dunno," and walk away. He didn't like the idea of high school, because he wouldn't see his friends until they graduated. After five months, they all slowly started appearing, joining Gumball in the new school. Sadly, this was around the time when Gumball was beginning to become annoyed at everyone.

He walked inside the building. The halls were lined with lockers and had students pulling things out of them or talking to each other. From the door, he went straight forward, made one left turn, and there was his locker. There was some stickers on it such as blue thunder and some Grey clouds, just so he would know which one it is. Sadly, his locker was sitting right next to Darwin's and Anais'. Something he was starting to hate slowly.

He walked up to his, ignoring as his two siblings walked up to theirs. He undid the lock and opened the locker. There were some books inside along with a few binders. But there was a large amount of colorful cylinders. Gumball opened one up. It was completely full of pencils, pens, markers and highlighter pens. Whenever someone dropped something to draw or write with, Gumball would always pick it up if he had the chance to. And over the year, he had about four jars filled up.

He shoved some of his books in his locker before closing it and locking it up. He walked down the halls to his first class. One that he dreaded every day: World History Class.

It was one that shoved his brain full of info about the spinning ball of dirt he lived on. From the country founders all the way to the other side of the world. Gumball didn't have a problem with all the races or the wars or anything.

He just hated his teacher's guts.

He walked in the classroom where a dozen other students sat quietly. The teacher was standing by his desk, holding a large stack of papers. Once Gumball closed the door behind him, the teacher eyed him carefully as Gumball went over to his desk and sat down.

His teacher was in no way a pretty sight. He was a goblin made out of stone, just like his heart. He wore a very fancy looking suit every day and he had a rather big pair of glasses. It was all topped off with a stone beard that somehow moved like it was real hair.

"Good morning, Class," he grumbled.

"Good morning, Mister Gravel."

"I assume you all finished this weeks assignment? If so, leave it on the desk now. If you didn't, just stay at your desk. You'll get an hour detention later on..." He grumbled ever word. His voice was low on the pitch scale.

The students all got up and placed their assignment with their names on the desk Mr. Gravel stood next to. Gumball was the last one to walk up. He sat his paper on the desk and looked at his teacher. Trying to not look angry.

"I didn't have a folder or anything to put it all in."

His teacher rolled his eyes. He stepped behind his desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a green folder. He wrote down Gumball's name on it and slipped the assignment in. Mr. Gravel eyed Gumball.

"Do try to be careful, Watterson."

Gumball simply nodded and went back to his desk. He closed his eyes and quietly let out a sigh, being sure that no one heard him.

"Now, class, you all know about next week's assignment. I told you earlier that it was to be done by Friday for a reason."

Everyone remained silent.

"I am resigning as a teacher at Elmore High School."

Everyone no longer remained silent and gasped, (and like this morning, except for Gumball.)

"The school will be finding another teacher to help you all 'learn' about the different countries and such, but they will not be here for another month. Until then, a substitute teacher will be here on Monday until the school finds a full-time teacher. I will be leaving on Monday. Are there any question?"

No one rose their hand, but Gumball.

"Ah, yes, Watterson?"

"Do you need those spare folders in your drawers anymore?"

Mr. Gravel slapped his hand on his face as the entire class giggled quietly.

"Watterson, if I let you have the folders, will you refrain from asking another stupid question in this class for the rest of my time here?"

"...Yeah."

Mr Gravel sighed. "Take them when you leave the class." He placed the folders on his desk. "Now then, on with the lesson. This week, we're learning about America, it's states and their history."

Gumball sighed, sinking down lower in his seat. He had already finished his assignment on the current lecture last night, so there wasn't all that much of a reason to listen. But he couldn't fall asleep and risk getting chewed out for it.

He pulled out a notepad from his backpack and started scribbling down words. But they weren't Mr. Gravels words. Gumball recently got into writing poems. Most of them only consisted of four rhymes, though. His mind couldn't get very far with them.

Most of them had themes like _'Hurt'_, _'Anger'_ or _'Killing'_. Gumball thought he should at least try to break out of the negative zone and try something more uplifting. Only one thing came to his mind.

_'...Love...geh...'_

Gumball sighed. He thought he should give it a try anyway. He wrote down one line on top of a blank page.

**'Your heart is broken,'**

...

As quickly as he started, Gumball closed his note pad quietly.

**End of Chapter 1**


	2. Schooled

**Author's Notes (A/N) will be redirected to a forum on this site. Just hit 'Forums', then go to 'Gumball's Hollow Ponds' and it'll be pinned on top.**

**Perfectly Not**

**~O~X~O~**

Lunch time was supposed to be a fun time, but for Gumball, it felt more depressing. He sat at a table alone, eating his sandwich while watching everyone else talk and laugh and just have fun overall.

Gumball had friends. A lot in fact, but after he just got into high school, no one really wanted to be with him anymore. He was always so cold, depressing and just downright angry. Of course, Gumball would never admit that to anyone. No matter how wrong his words would be.

He saw Carmen and Alan eating their food together. Carmen was holding Alan's string as they both giggled as they snuggled close to each other. Carmen had hit puberty early and soon, her prickles had gotten much longer. Harming much more than her love interest.

She would later find the joys of shaving.

Gumball belched, ignoring the two now kissing. He looked over to his right. He could see Bobert simply sitting by a power outlet, motionless. His robotic arms carried a lunch tray as an attempt to be more 'normal' and to 'fit in' with the rest of the school.

_'Loser...'_

Gumball took a bite of his sandwich, looking forward again. In front of Alan and Carmen were Tina and Jamie strangling another student for lunch money. Just looking at it made Gumball finish all of his food completely before they got the idea to go up to him.

He turned to his left and saw Darwin and Anais approaching him with their food. 'Great, I gotta deal with them again.' Gumball looked down at the table, trying his best to not pay any attention to his younger siblings. Darwin and Anais sat down at the table next to him. With Darwin in the middle of the two, he blinked at Gumball.

"Yo...uh, what's up?"

_'Your face being knocked into the ceiling if you don't leave me the hell alone..'_

"Nothing," said Gumball.

"Gumball, you could talk more." Anais lowered her eyebrows at her brother.

"Why should I? No one likes me anyway."

"Okay, that is not true," said Darwin.

"Oh great, another lie to the pile." Gumball turned and faced his siblings. "Name one person who actually likes me and would spend time with me."

Darwin starred at his brother, motionless. His mouth opened slightly, but nothing came out.

"I knew it." Gumball got up from the table, about to leave.

"Hey! You didn't let me finish!" Darwin exclaimed.

"You've done enough. Both of you." Gumball shot them an angry look. "I want to be left alone..."

"Okay, you know what?" Anais rose from her seat. "I am seriously just sick of the way you've been acting! It's always angry with this, angry with that, seriously, Gumball!" She gritted her teeth as she walked up to her older brother, starring at the ceiling.

"...I don't care, Anais."

This angered her even more. She pulled her arm back, ready to sock him in the face.

"Whoa! Wait a second!" Darwin grabbed Anais and pulled her away from Gumball. "No one's gonna hit anyone!"

"Darwin! Let me go!" Anais struggled to break free. "You know how he's been acting! I'm tired of it!"

"Anais, calm down." Darwin rubbed her forehead. "You have to tell mom. If you hit Gumball, she'll chew you out just as much as him."

"...Ha... Ha ha ha!" laughed Gumball.

"What's so funny?" asked Anais.

"Come on, we both know that would be impossible." Gumball walked up and patted Darwin on the cheek. "Mom couldn't."

"Oh. She would totally kick your butt right back to Tuesday!" exclaimed Anais, trying to claw at Gumball.

"Now, who said anything about my butt?" Darwin and Anais raised an eyebrow. "I mean, mom would never yell at you, Anais. Let alone hit you on the butt."

"What are you getting at?" Anais didn't like the sound of Gumball's voice.

"Oh, come on. You're six and in high school. Are you really that stupid?" Gumball chuckled, facing away from the two. His laughing stopped as his head went a bit lower than usual.

"Mom wouldn't yell at you..."

"Gumball, mom yells at all of us," pointed out Darwin.

"Yeah, I guess she yells at you two every blue moon." Gumball rolled his eyes before closing them. "... But mom...

"...you two."

"..." Darwin stepped closer, still holding onto Anais. "Mom what?"

"...Ugh! Screw it, I'm outta here!" Gumball turned and ran off out of the cafeteria. Darwin shouted at him several times, but was ignored.

"Gumball! Wait! Mom what!?"

Gumball passed the doors, shutting them behind him.

"Ugh... Dang it, Gumball." Darwin let go of Anais. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, I'm not mad at you... Just Gumball." Anais pinched in between her eyes. "He's gonna stick like that forever..."

"But, people can change, right?" asked Darwin.

"Oh, Darwin. People can change." Anais placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just not Gumball."

Darwin sighed, sitting back at the table with Anais. He opened up his lunch bag, but stopped at noticing something.

"You okay?" asked Anais, pulling out a sandwich.

"It's... Gumball."

"Wait, what? Where?"

"He's standing by the door, over there." Darwin pointed at the door Gumball left at. He was now back again, but he stood by the doors with wide eyes. He wasn't starring at his siblings, though.

"What's he looking at?"

The two looked around the cafeteria, not finding anything of significance.

"Is he insane now?"

"...Oh my gosh..." Anais' mouth dropped down. "Darwin... Look."

Darwin turned around, starring at the other set of doors at the other side of the cafeteria. He finally caught a good view at what Gumball was starring at. At that moment, like Anais, it hit him in the face.

"...Holy crud..."

_'...She's here... She's actually here,'_ thought Gumball.

His feet slowly started to move his body forward. His mind was now completely off of everything else that existed and moved towards his goal. He could feel the sweat falling off his forehead as he kept on moving. His heart pounded faster with every passing step he made. Soon, he was so close that he caught what his mind was solely focused on in it's full beauty.

She sat there. She wore wristbands that were the color black. Her shoes were black and had white stripes on the sides. Topping it all were two small black bows tied on her anthers. Other than those few things, her look was exactly the same way Gumball remembered her from two years ago.

In what felt like years, Gumball was standing behind her, undetected as she continued to eat her food. His mouth was open, but he couldn't choke out a single word to her. He thought this was all some kind of sick-twisted dream where he would wake up any minute now.

With shaky hands on his chest, he choked out one name.

"P-Penny?"

The girl stopped moving. Gumball had a heart attack at that moment.

_'Crap, crap, crap, crap!'_

She turned around slowly, looking up at Gumball. His mind was blown apart as her face came into view.

Her eyes, her mouth, her face, exactly the way he remembered them. But it didn't bear a smile. Only a look of depression.

"...Um, can I help you?" She raised an eyebrow at Gumball.

"D-Do you r-remember me?" asked Gumball, his voice nearly cracking at the end.

"...I, think I do, but..."

"I-I'm Gumball..."

"...Oh..." The memories hit Penny like a fright-train. "It's you..."

Gumball frowned. He thought she would have forgotten about it by now.

"I remember you... Two years ago. We went together at Junior High..."

"Yeah," said Gumball, trying to calm himself down.

"Yeah... you never really did say 'it' to me..."

"Y-Yeah."

Two years ago, Gumball had the biggest crush on his classmate, Penny. She had the same feelings for him, but neither could express it fully. It went on for about as long as Gumball could remember.

For years, Penny had worn a shell to protect her true identity. Not much was know about it until Gumball convinced her to come out. At that point, the two started dating more often. Spending as much time together as they could.

Nearly a month before Gumball left to high school, in the middle of the cafeteria, an argument broke out between the two. Penny had noticed some girls were becoming more closer to Gumball. When she asked him about it, he said, "I have no idea."

On that day, something changed in Penny. She didn't believe it, and accused Gumball of cheating on her. Gumball denied it, but she went on about how he had looked and talked to the other girls. Gumball still denied it, but Penny was convinced. She told him if he didn't come out with it, she would leave him.

Anger got to Gumball and he started yelling at Penny. The entire school was sitting around them watching in shock as the couple fought each other in plain sight. At the end of it all, when the yells could be heard down the halls, when they were both about to cry,

Penny slapped Gumball in the face and walked away.

Slowly, the two of them started to drift apart from each other. Penny didn't want to talk to Gumball, and Gumball was starting to hate being talked to overall. It was something no one in Elmore Juinor High had expected to happen. One of the biggest couples in school had fallen apart slowly. Because one couldn't say something to the other.

When Gumball moved on to High school, he had lost touch with Penny completely. He never tried to call, visit, or even email once. Penny did the same as well. But when he turned fourteen, Gumball tried connecting with her in many ways, but she never got back to him. He assumed he was forgotten completely, and soon, he tried forgetting about her as well. All up until now.

"...So, you... transferred or something?" asked Gumball, looking at the ground.

"Yes, I did. First day here."

"Okay..." Gumball had no idea what to say to her.

"...Did you want something?" asked Penny, eying Gumball.

"Oh... no, I just... didn't think I would see you..."

"Gumball, you know I'm still mad at you."

"..." With that, Gumball walked away from Penny. She continued to eat her food, not giving him a second thought. Gumball sat down next to his siblings again. He wasn't aware they were giving him a strange look.

"...Yo, dude?"

Gumball didn't respond.

"Did you talk to Penny just now?" asked Darwin.

"...Yeah..."

"Well... what did she tell you?" asked Anais.

"...Like you two would give a crap."

Anais slammed her fist on the table. "Would you stop swearing?"

"Would you stop asking me so many stupid questions in one freaking day?"

Anais snapped. "That's it. I'm telling mom about your attitude. I've had it, Gumball."

"You think I'm scarred of mom?" Gumball got up from his seat, starring down at Anais. "The worst she can do is ground me again, and you think I'm scarred?"

Darwin and Anais stood up in front of Gumball. Darwin said, "Gumball, you should be. Mom is seriously about to lose her lid with you."

"Ha ha!" laughed Gumball. "So you _do _think that, huh?"

"Yes, Gumball." Anais gave him a death stare. Darwin looked upset at him.

"Oh, god, well then. I guess since mom is going to destroy me..." Gumball walked closer to them. "Ya know, since she's gonna ground me anyway..."

"What the heck are you doing?" asked Darwin, not amused by his brother. Slowly, Gumball took another step forward. Then another, and another. Soon, he had his brother and sister backing up towards the wall. Both could hear their hearts beating wildly as Gumball backed them up against the wall completely. His hands were now fist and he started to slowly rise one up.

"G-Gumball, knock it off!" exclaimed Anais, trying not to look scarred. Gumball rose up another hand in front of himself.

"Gumball, stop it, please." Darwin started sweating. He'd never thought his own brother would do something like this.

"Time to knock some sense into you..." With one arm back, Gumball aimed to punch Darwin in the face. He closed one eye, and put as much force into his punch as he could,

Until someone stopped him.

_'...What the...'_

Gumball turned around quickly. He saw Penny holding back his arm with both of her hands. Her apperance looked normal, but her eyes were red and fangs slowly slid out of her mouth.

"Gumball, back off." Penny's arms yanked back with amazing force. Gumball jerked back and landed on his knees, right in front of Penny.

"...B-But you-"

"Gumball, you leave your little brother and sister alone." Penny's voice was cold and harsh. Gumball could tell she meant every word.

He stood up and pulled his arm back. Looking back at Darwin and Anais, still up against the wall, he ran right out of the cafeteria, not looking back once. Penny sighed and helped Anais back on her feet. She looked at Darwin.

"Are you two okay?"

"Y-yeah... just a bit freaked out." Darwin rubbed the back of his head. "Thank you, Penny."

"If he does it again, let me know, okay?" Penny looked at the doors that Gumball ran out of. "He's changed a lot..."

"He's been like that every day for practically forever." Anais dusted her dress off, starring up at Penny. "I'm going to tell mom about this later..."

"I better go now, I got a class starting up soon." Penny turned around and walked away. She looked back at the two and smiled. "We should talk again sometime."

"Oh yeah, sure, we can," said Darwin, smiling.

"Bye guys. Nice seeing you two." With that, Penny ran off. Darwin watched her until she was out of sight completely.

"...She's so nice..." The thoughts of Gumball came back quickly. "You wanna call mom now?"

"Yeah... better now than later..." Anais and Darwin left the cafeteria to find a phone. Their lunch forgotten.

**~O~X~O~**

_'No...NO!'_

Gumball slammed his fist on his locker. He kicked it multiple times and banged his head on it. He had completely screwed himself over this time.

_'The hell am I gonna do!? They're gonna tell mom, she's gonna freaking kill me! And Penny... Penny...'_

Gumball could feel a stray tear on his cheek. He wiped it away quickly before anyone could see him or it.

_'No! No! It's not fair! Why the hell are those two like that?!'_

He kicked his locker again, and bashed his head against it.

_'It's always them! Always trying to get me in some way! They ruined my chance with Penny! Freaking ruined it! They ruin _**_everything!_**_'_

Gumball punched his locker once more. Now the pain had hit him. He clenched his fist and did his best not to break down in the hall. He took a deep breath and held in his tears. He slowly opened his locker and pulled out another book and slammed it shut. Gumball stomped down the halls to his math class. If there was anything good about it, it was that Darwin and Anais also weren't in this class. He would have some peace of mind for a bit. He aced math anyway.

He slowly walked up to the door, turning the know and stepping inside. Some students were already studying and writing while others were on their phones or laptops or just talking to each other. Gumball walked to the second row from the front and took his seat. He sighed, resting his head on his desk.

_'God... kill me, please...'_

The bell rang, and the teacher, a giant calculator walked in. Some other students ran in the room and sat at their desk as the teacher closed the door. He cleared his throat, speaking in a bit-like voice.

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Mr. Num."

"Now then, class, you may or may not have noticed, but we have someone new here with us today."

_'...No...'_ thought Gumball.

"Now, would everyone please,"

_'No!'_

"Give a very warm welcome to,"

_'NOOOO!'_

"Watterson!"

Gumball shot his head up starring at the teacher. Everyone in the class giggled quietly.

"Would you please stay awake for a moment and say hello to Penny Fitzgerald?"

The teacher motioned for Gumball to turn to his left. Gumball moved his head and right next to him was Penny. She had a blank expression on her face. Gumball knew if he looked at her in any way, the whole class would question him about it.

"...We've met before," said Gumball.

"Oh, you have?" asked Mr. Num.

"We went to Junior High together," said Penny, turning away from Gumball.

"Oh, I see. Hm, must be nice seeing each other again." Mr. Num turned to his desk and pulled out a stack of paper. "Alright, class, I've graded your test from last week."

He started to hand out the papers, one by one to every student. When Gumball got his, he pried it open and checked his results.

**A-**

_'...It's not too bad...'_ thought Gumball.

The rest of the class could be heard sighing.

"Alright, class, lets get started with today's lesson."

Mr. Num started drawing out math problems on the black board as nearly half the class fell asleep. Gumball was writing down everything he said and wrote, but it took every ounce of will in his body to not look at Penny. He had no idea if she was giving him an odd look or even looking at him overall. His brain kept going back and forth between 'Look at her' and 'Don't look at her.'

After ten minutes of self-argument, Gumball slowly turned his head at Penny. She was writing in her textbook and didn't notice him starring at her. He let out a quiet 'sigh' before going back to writing again.

_'...She's still pretty...'_

Gumball opened up his textbook and flipped through the pages. He found the one with the short poem he started earlier this morning.

**"Your heart is broken,"**

_'...and...'_ Gumball chewed on his pencil for the next line. He dug his brain out, but found nothing. He closed his eyes, trying to clear it out completely. Something hit him. He turned and saw Penny still writing in her notepad. For a moment, Gumball's mind wandered off. He thought of one short line and wrote it down.

**"You forgot how to defend."**

Another one popped up,

**"I can pull you out of the darkness,"**

One last line,

**"Your soul, I can mend."**

_'...How did I do that?'_

Gumball looked at Penny once more. She was focused soely on her schoolwork. As far as they went, this was as far as Gumball got with any poem. Yet something felt missing. There wasn't enough for this one. He looked down at his writing and scribbled down another line.

**"Loneliness, you sit in,"**

_'in... in... in...'_

**"As the days pass by."**

**"In space, you drift on,"**

**"On earth, I ask why."**

Gumball sighed and closed his pad. He would work on his little poem later. He looked up at the clock and the hour struck. The bell rang and everyone began to leave the classroom slowly. Gumball shoved his things inside his backpack, carefully watching Penny as she floated out of the room with her things in her hands.

"Dammit..." muttered Gumball under his breath. He walked out of the classroom and down the halls back to his locker. He opened it up and shoved some books in and pulled out another bag. He only had Gym and Science left before school ended for the day.

He made his way to the Gym when he saw Darwin and Anais standing by a phone on the wall. He tried to ignore them as best as he could, but something didn't feel right. As if they needed to talk to him. Gumball turned and faced the two. They both had frowns on their faces and their arms were crossed.

"Pfft... what?" asked Gumball as he shrugged.

"Oh, nothing." Darwin picked up his bag. "Just you know, mom wants to talk to you when you get home."

Gumball rolled his eyes.

"Alone."

"...Say that again?" asked Gumball.

"She wants to talk to you alone when you get home, Gumball."

Usually, a talk consisted of his mother yelling at him, his father standing in the corner and his siblings standing next to their mother with a disgusted look on their faces and Gumball would simply stand there, not allowed to say anything. The very thought that for once, his mother wanted to talk to him alone, just didn't sound right to him. At all.

"S-so what?"

"You're scarred, aren't you?" Anais had a smile on her face.

"I'm not scarred of anything!" lied Gumball

"Okay, you can tell that to mom later," said Anais as she walked away, still smiling. Gumball looked at Darwin. He sighed.

"Dude... I don't want to say this, but she's on the right side..."

"N-now hang on a second! I never hit any of you two!"

"It doesn't matter, Gumball. Mom's still mad at you," said Darwin.

"I said I didn't hit anyone!"

"...You don't get it, dude." Darwin walked away, leaving Gumball alone by the phone. He walked up to it and saw some change in the coin slot. He took out the two dimes and looked at them. His hand was shaking. He closed his hand and walked to the Gym.

His mind was now on the run. His mom was about ready to blow up at any given second with him. Gumball felt a very bad feeling in his stomach at the thought of going home later. He thought he could just hang out somewhere else, but his siblings were bound to tell their mother if he wasn't on the bus with them.

He walked in the gym where some other kids were already getting ready. He walked passed everyone and went over to another set of doors to a hallway, leading to the showers and lockers. He went up to his own and unlocked it. He pulled out some gym shorts and a t-shirt, both white, and sat down on the bench behind him. He yanked off his sweater and pants, slipping on the loose gym wear.

He shoved his clothes inside his locker along with his gym bag. He didn't trust anyone when he left it out. He left to the gym and found everyone all ready and lined up. At the very end of the long line was Darwin. He didn't look too happy at all. Gumball ignored it and stepped in line with the others.

Their gym coach slowly walked in the room. He was a giant red brick and wore a big white headband on top. He turned and faced the kids standing before him and blew his whistle.

"Alright then... Today isn't going to be hard, like the last few times."

Everyone in the room sighed.

"Instead, it'll be much harder... and MUCH longer..."

Everyone in the room sighed again.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure you'll all do juuuust fine."

**~O~X~O~**

Gumball was lying on the floor flat on his face. His muscles ached and his head was throbbing. His breaths were heavy and he could hear his heart pounding against the ground. He looked up and saw everyone else wasn't holding up any better either. He tried standing on his feet slowly, the pain trying to pull him down but he managed to stand up completely, facing his coach. He blew a whistle and cleared his throat.

"Alright, class, hit the showers and get to your last class!"

Everyone dragged, limped or crawled into the showers. Gumball did his best to keep on moving and not fall on his face again. He managed to squeeze past everyone piling up at the door and get to his locker. He opened it up and pulled out his gym bag. He slipped off his gym clothes and his boxers, shoving them in his bag and closing the locker. Gumball quickly walked over to the showers and turned it on full blast. The warm water hitting his body felt so relaxing to him.

He grabbed a bar of soap and scrubbed under his arms. They always reeked after gym and he sometimes forgot to scrub there in the mornings. He got all over his body as the water continued to beat down on his fur, now sagging down more.

He got behind his ears before stopping completely. He could feel something odd, but didn't know exactly what it was. He checked his hands but they looked fine. He starred past them and sadly, found something 'standing' out above everything else. His face turned red and with one hand down, continued to scrub his body.

Gumball prayed no other guy would see him like this. He had been caught hard before in the showers and the situation wasn't the best. They insisted that he played their 'games' which always made Gumball run out and leave. He felt uncomfortable in the showers every day. With other kids looking at his body exposed.

He didn't like his body. Not one bit. Gumball shut off the water and grabbed a towel hanging on a wall and ran back to his locker. He saw some other boys getting dressed and tried to ignore them. He yanked open his locker and pulled out his gym bag. He opened it up and pulled out his sweater, pants and a pair of briefs. His legs and hips would get sweaty frequently.

He closed his locker and looked behind himself. No one was focusing on him when he dropped his towel and slipped on his briefs. He felt a bit more relaxed when he grabbed his sweater and pulled it over his head and pulled it down, slipping his arms in the sleeves.

"Yo, nice ass."

Gumball froze completely. He slowly turned his head to see whoever spoke. He saw a red box kid starring down at him. Two other kids, a bear and a tall tiger were also starring at Gumball. His hands shaked nervously.

"Y-you talking to m-me?"

"Uh, yeah, dude. Yo butt looks good," said the bear kid, chuckling.

Gumball pulled his sweater down lower as he grabbed his pants.

"Yo, wanna stick around for a bit?" asked the tiger.

"N-no." Gumball did his best to not sound scarred. The three boys stood up and started walking towards Gumball. Quickly, he zipped up his fly, grabbed his gym bag and ran out of the showers, past the gym and into the school halls. He stopped by a locker to catch his breath and looked back to see if they followed him.

_'Oh god...'_

He sighed deeply. It was way to close for him. Gumball dragged himself over to his locker and tossed his gym bag inside and pulled out his books. The ordeal in the showers however stayed in his mind. He would have to be much more careful next time around.

He closed his locker and dragged himself to Science. It was his final class for the day. Sadly the thought of going back home later hit his mind like a car. He thought about if he should tell his mother what happened. What they almost did to Gumball and how scarred he was at the time.

The previous times, Gumball never told his parents about anything. He didn't think it mattered because the kids never really did anything to him. Only approached him. Gumball remembered the only time someone did touch him in the showers. And after that, they gave him three harsh words:

_"Yo, not tight."_

Gumball never knew what they meant by that. His best guess was that he didn't like the way Gumball looked. Gumball didn't think he looked ugly, strange, fat or hideous. Half of the school was nearly the same, but was there some kind of system to looks? Did it split between species?

Was he ugly?

Gumball looked down at the floor. He could somewhat see his reflection and he didn't think he looked ugly in any way. Even if he was ugly, those kids wouldn't want to pick on the ugly person or try to do anything to them whatsoever...

Gumball quickly abandoned that thought.

_'I'm... ugly?'_

He kept asking himself the same question multiple times as he slowly walked to his next class. But soon, he wouldn't be asking a question anymore. He looked at the ground and instead told himself something.

"...I'm not ugly..." lied Gumball. At least, that's what he thought was a lie. He continued walking to his next class as he kept his head hung low. Starring at his reflection on the clean floors of the hallway, not caring if he would bump into someone or hit a wall at some point.

A stray tear fell from his cheek. He rubbed his eyes before another could fall again. Gumball did his best to hold everything in till he would get home. He couldn't cry in front of everyone in school. He would only be tortured with it later on. Gumball sighed and walked to his class as he tried hiding his emotions from everyone.

Including himself, too.

**End of Chapter 2**


	3. Off to Bed

**Perfectly Not**

**~O~X~O~**

With every passing second, he dreaded for the clock to strike four. Every nerve-wrecking second made Gumball's mind throb with pain. He could clearly hear every little noise in the room as they all drowned out whatever his teacher was talking about. He closed his eyes, trying to space out from everything around him. He could feel the room starting to spin with everything around disappearing into thin air. The silence crept on as Gumball remained motionless...

_**'RIIIIING!'**_

"Class dismissed," said the teacher, a walking stove, as he picked up his books and left the room quickly as if he murdered someone. The kids left the room in the same way (minus the murder,) and proceeded to leave the school. Gumball dragged his feet the entire time, not looking forward to getting home in the slightest bit.

_'Stupid Darwin... stupid Anais...'_

He kicked a rock as he slowly approached the school bus, jumping in as the doors closed behind him. He looked around. It was practically the same except for the vibes around him. Everyone looked irritated at something or someone and kept their heads down.

Gumball walked over to the back. The only empty seat was sadly between Darwin and Anais. Both faced away from their older brother as he slowly approached them, sitting down in the empty space between them. He looked down at the floor, trying to ignore the two should they say anything to him.

The ride home was fairly quiet. Barely anyone on the bus spoke and the only thing that could be really heard was the engine of the bus. There were the sounds of a few passing cars, but it was mainly silent. For a moment, Gumball thought he went deaf, then thought everyone went deaf.

The bus slowly stopped and dropped off a few students before driving again. Gumball knew the stop after the next was his. He could already feel his heart pounding.

_'She can't do anything to you...'_

The bus stopped again, more students walked out of it and the doors closed.

_'Yeah, like, they can't prove anything... There's nothing on them. Not a scratch, nothing...'_

They kept on moving. Gumball could see the familiar houses all lined up and knew his was coming up soon.

_'They can't do jack crap about it...'_

A small smile crept on Gumball's face as the bus slowly stopped once more. He could hear the doors slide open and at that moment, got up and proceeded to walk out of the bus with his siblings behind him. He could hear the bus close its doors and drive off, and he could feel the grins Darwin and Anais had on their faces. He wiped his own smile off as he gripped the door with one hand and turned the knob.

_'Jokes on them... Assholes...'_

The moment he stepped inside, he could feel the pure anger coming off of his mother who stood by the couch. His father was sleeping on it, but he didn't care about him. He knew this would all end in his favor.

"Darwin, Anais, go to your room." The two children nodded and skipped upstairs with tiny smiles on their faces. Nicole approached Gumball slowly, and with a stern look on her face, starred down at him and said, "Mine and your father's room. Now."

Gumball slowly walked upstairs, trying to look depressed. He didn't want to give away anything or even hint at his plan. In his mind though, was bursting with happiness for the wrong reason. He walked in his parents room as his mother closed the door behind them. Gumball stood by the bed, looking around for a moment. The place looked calm, but he knew it was about to get nasty.

"Your brother and sister called me from school today," said Nicole, looking down at her son. "They told me that you tried to hit them. Is that true?"

"..."

"Answer me, Gumball."

"Okay, first off, back up a bit." Gumball held his hand up. "Second... there is no proof I even tried to hurt them. Let alone anything that proves I even said anything to them." Gumball looked up at his mother with an angry look. "How do you know they're not just making this up?"

"Gumball-"

"Also, why the heck would I hurt them? I'm already grounded, so why on earth would I do something that would ground me for longer? You're just gonna take their word for it and not think about what I would have to say? Or how I feel about it?"

Nicole stood motionless with her mouth slightly open. Gumball took a deep breath and took a step forward. He knew it was all done. Game, Set and Match as they say, for he knew he won the argument that barely even started.

"..."

"You gonna say something?" asked Gumball, throwing his arms up a bit.

"No, it's just that... well you know, I got another call before Anais and Darwin called me."

'What is she talking about?' thought Gumball.

"It was from a girl who... told me everything Anais and Darwin told me earlier."

"..._!_" It finally hit Gumball. He knew all too well what they said, when they said it, and who said it.

_'No... NOOOOO!'_

"So, if Darwin and Anais are lying, then what about the girl that called me earlier?" asked Nicole.

"W-wait a second!" Gumball held his hands in front of himself. "How do you know they didn't set that up?! You said-"

"Gumball, if they're trying to get you in trouble, there would be no reason to ask the girl to call me. You do know if they were that desperate to get you in trouble, they could have ran into a wall several times and say you did it, right? Also, the girl was very descriptive with what she told me."

"Then she's lying!" exclaimed Gumball.

"Okay then, so if I called her up again, that would clear up everything, right?"

"U-uh..." Gumball lost the words in his throat. In a mere second, everything had fallen apart for him. He was so close to getting out easy, but one person ruined it all for him.

"Gumball..."

"I-I-I..." Gumball searched his mind frantically for a solution, but couldn't think of anything at all.

"I've heard enough of this." Nicole knelt down in front of Gumball and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him close to her face.

"Why?"

Gumball started to choke up. "I-I didn't d-do anyt-thing, mom."

"Gumball, It's not that I'm upset that you tried to hit them..." Nicole looked him dead in the eyes. "But that you even had the idea in your mind."

"W-what?"

"Gumball, you're their older brother. You're supposed to protect them, and love them. The fact that you even had the thought of hurting any one of them... disgusts me greatly."

Gumball could feel his tears roll down his face as they crashed on the ground below. He had never heard his mother used that word in such a way.

"I-I didn't d-do anything, m-mom..." repeated Gumball.

"Are you going to tell the truth or not?"

Gumball backed from his mother. "I-I already d-did!"

"Gumball, did you try to hit them?"

"Shut up!" screamed Gumball "Just shut up!"

Nicole grabbed Gumball by his wrist and pulled him closer. "Don't you DARE use that kind of voice to me, young man."

"Let me go!" Gumball yanked his arm, but Nicole's grip was too strong for him.

"You're going to apologize to your brother and sister right now." Nicole stood up and dragged Gumball out of the room. Gumball tried pressing his feet on the ground, but he kept on moving with his mother into his bedroom. Nicole pushed the door open and looked at Anais and Darwin, who were sitting on the bottom bunk bed. She shoved Gumball forward in front of the two, gripping his shoulder.

"Say it."

"N-no..." Gumball looked down at his feet. He couldn't see the disapproving faces on his siblings.

"Gumball, do what I tell you to do, right now." Nicole did her best to keep from shouting at her son.

"N-no..."

"Gumball Thristopher Watterson, you apologize to your brother and sister, right now." Nicole turned him around and pointed at Darwin and Anais. Her face had 'death' written all over it.

"N-no-"

_**'SLAM!'**_

Nicole sent her foot down on the floor below, causing may objects in the room to shake, including her children. Darwin and Anais still remained silent as they watched the two fight on. They both knew they didn't need to say anything at this point.

"Gumball. Apologize. Right. NOW."

Gumball's legs started shaking, and everyone could see it. He slowly turned around with tears in his eyes and starred at his brother and sister. Like before, they still looked angry. Their eyes had fire in them and they had frowns that hung low.

"I-I-I'm... s-sorry..." choked out Gumball, gripping his own hands tightly.

"...Darwin, Anais, go downstairs. I'll talk to you two in a second." Nicole released her grip on Gumball's shoulder and pointed out the door. Both nodded and simply walked out of the room, not once looking at Gumball. Darwin closed the door behind him, and Nicole directed Gumball to sit on the bed. He did as he was told and sat on the edge, starring at the floor as his tears fell down like a waterfall.

"Gumball... I'm very disappointed with you right now," said Nicole as she sat next to him. "I've raised you better than that, and you know better, too."

Gumball quietly kept on sobbing.

"What on earth provoked you to make you want to hit Darwin and Anais?" Nicole looked down at his face. His teeth were braced and his eyes were shut tight. Sobs passed through his teeth as more tears ran down his face and onto the floor.

"Answer me right now."

"...T-they..." Gumball did his best to push the words out. "T-they wouldn't leave me alone..."

"And what do you mean by that?" asked Nicole, with a hint of anger still in her voice.

"I-I just want to be left alone, Mom... I c-can't talk to anyone right now..."

"Gumball,"

"Mom, I said there's just too much, and that I c-can't hand it, okay?!" Gumball rose his head and started to raise his voice. "I-I can't handle all of this bullshit!"

_**'SLAM!'**_

With one fist on the wooden frame of the bunk bed, Nicole stood up. "Don't you **EVER**. Use that word to me, ever, **AGAIN**, young man!"

"Y-you-"

"Do you have ANY idea how close you are from me sending you away?!" shouted Nicole.

"D-do you have any idea how close I am to losing it?" Gumball stood up and looked at his mother in the eyes. She had seen that look from him before, but she couldn't recall exactly from where.

"I-I am seriously close to losing it, Mom... I-I'm tired, I can't sleep,, I-I can barely t-talk to anyone, and those two a-aren't helping at a-all... A-and it hurts when y-you don't even talk to them when THEY do some thing wrong...

"You're a-always m-mad a-a-at... a-ah...ah..."

Gumball dropped to his knees, silently letting more tears fall down. He didn't look at his mother's face, only her feet. The pain in his chest was like a fire burning down a forrest. It wouldn't stop until everything was completely destroyed. His head ached and his eyes burned. His words got stuck in his throat, and he begged in his mind for all the pain to go away.

"G-Guh... Gh-gh...G-Guh..." He couldn't form his words correctly.

Nicole picked him up from under his arms and sat him on his bed. She placed a hand under his chin, much like she did earlier today and looked at Gumball in the eyes, past his tears and the redness, and spoke softly to him.

"Gumball, you're grounded for another week... It could have been for much longer, just know that."

Gumball quietly nodded.

"You'll still have your chores after dinner. I want to see your attitude change, too."

He nodded again.

"...but just try to get some rest for now... I'll get you when dinner's ready." said Nicole as she stood up completely. She closed the curtains on the window before quietly leaving the room. Gumball crawled under the sheets of his bed and curled up in a ball. He buried his head in his pillows with one small crack in them. He could see the shadows starting to appear around the room and the objects around him. He closed his eyes, sobbing quietly to himself.

**~O~X~O~**

She walked down the stairs quietly, looking over at the couch and seeing her two other children watching the new T.V. she bought before she came back from work. She could hear some noises coming from them, but she couldn't say exactly what they were saying. But her best guess was that they were giggling.

She walked over and sat next to the two of them, placing her hands on her lap. A smile was on her face, but there was a hint of sadness on it also.

"You kids okay?"

"Oh, yea, we're cool, Mrs. Mom," said Darwin, smiling.

"Um... I'd like to talk to you two about your brother for a bit."

They both froze and went silent. Anais picked up the remote and shut off the T.V. turning over to her mother. She looked up at her with one eyebrow raised. Darwin simply looked confused.

"What exactly about?"

"...Okay, so first, a girl from school called me right before you two called about the fight you had with your brother."

"A girl?" asked Darwin.

"Gumball thinks you might have... set it up, and I just want to hear it from you."

"...Oh, wait a second," said Anais, placing a hand on her chin. "I think I know who that girl was."

"Who?"

"Penny Fitzgerald."

Nicole raised her head. The name rang a bell. A very small bell at that.

Darwin sighed. "She was Gumball's girlfriend... She transferred from another high school today."

"So, she saw the fight?" asked Nicole.

"No, she broke it up," said Anais. "She stopped Gumball before he tried to do anything to us."

"She did? Really?" Nicole was surprised. She didn't think that girl of all people could do something like that.

"Didn't Gumball tell you that?"

"...No, he didn't... But I understand why he didn't want to." Nicole could clearly remember the day her son went on a frantic run around town trying to help Penny with her 'Emotional problems,' but she couldn't recall how they broke up. Let alone Gumball telling her about it.

"...Okay, so here's the thing," started Nicole. "I'm not being any way to you two, but I really think you should give Gumball some space."

"Wait, why?" asked Anais. "We didn't do anything to him."

"I know, I know... but I think it would be better for everyone if he was just left alone for awhile... You can still speak to him if it's necessary, but just give him some time alone, okay?"

"Okay, Mrs. Mom. We understand," said Darwin as he nodded.

"Thank you." Nicole reached out and hugged Darwin and Anais. They seperated as Nicole said, "Alright, I'm gonna go start dinner now."

She stood up and walked over to the kitchen, leaving the two children alone again. They both looked at each other with an eyebrow raised.

"...You thinking something?" asked Darwin.

"Seemed... odd."

"Odd?"

"Like, I thought Gumball would have put up more of a fight with Mom... but he barely did anything..."

Darwin starred at the T.V. screen. An ad for a car dealership was on.

"Maybe he's just tired? Who knows, maybe he gave up."

"Gave up?"

"Like... maybe he's the old Gumball again?"

Darwin cracked a small smile. Anais just sighed, jumping off the couch.

"That Gumball is long gone..."

She proceeded upstairs, leaving Darwin by himself. He starred blankly at his shoes on his feet. As if they had the answers to all of his questions.

_'...He can change... I know it...'_

He sighed, sliding on the couch lower. Darwin looked up at the ceiling for no particular reason and sighed again. He wished his brother would go back to his old self. Carefree, happy, full of energy...

Kind and loving...

**~O~X~O~**

His face stayed implanted in his pillow, now dripping wet with saliva and tears from earlier. Gumball moved his arms up, and pushed himself so he could sit upright. He sat on the edge of the bed, starring down at the floor below. It was more darker than usual. Looking up, he saw the curtains covering the window and blocking out any light that tried to break in.

He sobbed again, pressing his hands over his face. Tears soaked up on his palms as he moved them down on his cheeks. He tugged on his whiskers lightly, trying to pull himself together. His breaths were long, but quiet. He slid down off the bed, his legs shaking slightly as he did.

Gumball was afraid. He didn't know if he should step outside or stay in his room for a bit more. He could already see the looks his siblings would give him, let alone his parents. He looked over at the clock sitting by the bed. It read 5:57. His mother would come up to get him soon.

With shaky hands, Gumball walked over to the door slowly. He placed his hand on the knob, turning it around until the door opened up on its own. He took small and quiet steps as he walked down the hallway, up to the staircase. Gumball looked down from the railing. No one was sitting on the couch and the new T.V. was off. They were probably getting ready for dinner.

He saw his mother walk in. She had oven mittens on her hands but took them off quickly. She looked up at the staircase and saw Gumball standing there.

"I was about to get you up. Dinner's ready."

"...Okay," whispered Gumball. He forced himself down the stairs, past the couch, and over to the table. His father sat next to Anais, and between her and Darwin was an empty seat. Presumably where he was going to sit. Slowly, he walked up to the chair, pulling it out and sitting in it and starring down at the table. He could tell some of his family were looking right at him, and he did his best to ignore them.

Nicole came over to the table with a glass dish in her hand. She sat it down in the middle and took her own seat. The dish was filled with pasta and had some cheese on top. It's aroma delighted everyone.

Except Gumball.

Nicole took a spoon and started serving everyone. Starting with Richard, Darwin, Anais, and finally Gumball. She sat his plate in front of him. Gumball starred at his food blankly. It's scent didn't even get past his mind. Darwin and Anais glanced at him. They didn't want to say anything, else Gumball might be provoked by it.

"...Nicole?"

"Yes, Richard?" asked Nicole, picking up a fork.

"Are the kids okay?"

Nicole glanced at her children. Darwin and Anais looked somewhat depressed, and Gumball's face basically showed he had been crying earlier.

"Oh... it's just been a long day, honey." She kissed Richard on the cheek.

"...Oh, I know!" Richard sat his fork down, which surprised everyone, (except Gumball.) "Can we do the 'thing'?"

"What thing?" asked Nicole.

"The thing your dad did? It always cheered everyone up!"

The whole room went completely silent. The kids didn't know what this 'thing' was, but Nicole knew exactly what Richard meant. Her father only did it all the time when she was little, and when he was around.

"Um... okay, we can, if that's what you want, Richard." Nicole scooted closer, grabbing her husbands hand. Darwin and Anais looked on in confusion at what their parents were doing.

"Darwin, hold my hand, please?"

"Um... okay?" Darwin extended one fin out, letting his mother hold it. Anais caught on with it, and held her fathers hand. Darwin turned and looked at Gumball, still starring down at his plate.

"...Gumball."

"...Huh?" Gumball looked up at his mother.

"Hold Darwin and Anais' hands, please."

Gumball slowly turned and looked at Anais. She had her poker face on, and as he turned, so did Darwin. He looked back at his mother again, and saw she was holding Darwin and his father's hands.

"...O-okay," said Gumball. With shaky hands, he reached out for both Darwin and Anais. Darwin slipped his fin on his, and Anais held onto his hand firmly. He knew Darwin and Anais could feel them shaking, which only made them shake more. Shortly after, everyone closed their eyes, tilting their heads down.

"...Dear...lord," started Nicole, not used to being the one who spoke. "We thank you for... giving us a loving home... for keeping us all healthy... and for giving us the food that sits on our table..."

Gumball peeked one eye open quickly, before closing it again.

"We've been going through some tough times lately... the whole family... and we hope that you can... get us through it all..."

He could feel the tears building up in him.

"We hope that you... that you..."

Richard spoke up, "We hope that you watch over our children, and that you can give them happy and healthy lives. We hope that you can watch over each and everyone of them, and continue to love them each to the fullest."

Nicole smiled. "In Jesus' name, amen."

"Amen," repeated everyone. Nicole looked up at Gumball. He kept his head down and his mouth was shaking.

"...A-amen..." whispered Gumball.

With their hands parted, everyone began to eat their food.

**~X~O~X~**

_'__**BVRRRR**__RRRrrrr...'_

The ear-piercing motor quieted down as he pressed the tiny red button near the handle. Wrapping the cord around a small hook below the handle, Gumball dragged the vacuum cleaner back into a closet. He closed the door quietly before turning around and inspecting the floor one more time. He had washed the dishes earlier, moped the kitchen floor, and took out the old T.V. outside. He felt exhausted. He starred up at the clock hanging on the wall.

**8:01**

He didn't know if he should go to bed early. He liked the idea, yet he had some homework lying around that could be done. He sighed, walking over to the front door. His backpack sat next to it. He unzipped the top and reached in for a few folders. The very same ones his teacher from World History class had given him earlier. His assignments and other homework were separated in them, which is why he asked for them.

He pulled out a few along with a pencil and a sharpener. He slowly walked to the kitchen table, setting his things down and sitting in a chair. He could see his mother in the kitchen talking on the phone. She kept her eyes upward and probably wasn't aware he was sitting at the table.

He pulled out some papers from one of the folders and began writing down various things. His history stuff was the most annoying in his opinion. So many places that he was forced to memorize, and about a dozen he won't even go to later in the future.

He kept on writing through the night, repetitively sharpening his pencil as he kept breaking it. It felt like hours went by with each word and number that was written. He missed having the computer, as he could have just typed it all and saved his eyes, palms, and back the trouble. He could recall the glow of the screen in the night, getting his homework done quite early. Sadly, he would have to wait for sometime before he could even get close to a chance.

As he let out another sigh, he slipped his last piece of homework back in it's folder, stacking everything up and setting his pencil down. He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall behind him.

**8:39**

_'Might as well go to bed...'_

He picked up his things and walked over to his backpack. Gumball shoved his things inside, slightly glad he wouldn't have to worry about too much for a bit. He turned, looking at the staircase, and started dragging his feet over to it.

"...Gumball."

He turned around. His mother had now hung up the phone and was looking at him. Her head was slightly tilted to the side.

"You going to bed now?" asked Nicole.

"...Y-yeah."

"Alright." She walked in the kitchen and turned the lights off. She then walked back and to the front door, hitting a switch and shutting off the rest of the lights as well. Gumball turned, walking up the stairs and being followed by his mother. He went towards his room while Nicole went into hers. Opening the door slowly, he stepped inside and closed it behind him.

Gumball could see his siblings on the computer. More than likely studying together. He went over to the closet, opened it up and pulled out a nightshirt. He popped off his sweater and pants, slipping on his nightshirt over his head and pulling it down. It reached down to his knees, which, he didn't mind if he looked a bit girly. He wouldn't be walking outside wearing it anyway.

He tossed his old clothes in the corner of the room, stepping outside again. His mother was walking out of the bathroom with a night robe on. She started walking over to her room and watched Gumball step in front of the bathroom door.

"...Goodnight, Gumball," said Nicole, about to step in her room. Gumball heard it and looked back at her. His eyes low, and his head slightly down.

"...Night," whispered Gumball, stepping in the bathroom.

It didn't take long for Gumball to brush his teeth. He didn't want to look at himself crying in the mirror, as it felt strange to him. He left the bathroom, shutting off it's lights and walking back into his room. Darwin and Anais were already in bed, sound asleep. He walked up to his bed and slipped under the covers, starring at the clock one last time.

**9:03**

He looked up at the bunk above him, recalling the entire day. It was all a giant emotional and physical roller coaster, and he was glad it was over. Sadly, he knew another horrible day was just around the corner, and that it was bound to be even worse than today.

He kept his eyes opened as more tears slipped down his cheeks. He looked out the window and saw the sky, now completely dark. Gumball closed his eyes and barred his teeth. The pain in his head was rising slowly.

He pulled the cover off of him, tired and wanting to go to sleep. He got up, leaning out of his bed and looking at the bed above his. Anais was asleep, and he turned, to find Darwin still asleep as well. He laid back on his bed, his arms and legs spread out.

He slowly gripped his briefs and started pulling them down his legs, looking back at Darwin again quickly. Once they were on his ankles, Gumball repeated what he did in the shower that morning, only more quiet, as to not wake anyone up. With the amount of stress in one day, Gumball could finish up quickly. He bit his tongue to prevent from moaning, (although one quiet one got out,) and kept his body pressed down firmly to keep from making noise. A wave of relief fell on top of him as he did so.

He took a box of tissues sitting by Darwin, pulling out a few to clean himself up. Once he was done, he got off his bed and tossed them in a waste basket sitting by the desk. He walked back to his bed, pulling his briefs on and sliding under the covers once more.

Even if he wanted to, Gumball felt he couldn't stay awake any longer. His headache was gone, and his vision was a bit blurry. He looked back at Darwin one last time to make sure he was still asleep, before turning his head around.

With heavy eyes, and breathing, he closed his eyes as his breathing eased. He didn't think on it too hardly, but some things lingered in his mind. The memory of the showers hit his mind. He could remember not wanting to do anything those kids in there wanted him to do...

But he had one second thought on it.

Gumball quietly fell asleep. Slightly relieved from doing the only thing that could make him happy.

**End of Chapter 3**


	4. Same Shit, Different Day

**Just wanted to say, this day marks the one year anniversary of my time in FanFiction. It only feels like a month since I joined though.**

**To celebrate, I got this together and am posting another fic in the 'Homestuck' archive as well.**

**Here's to another year, yo.**

**Author's notes have been redirected to the forums under Gumball's Hollow Ponds Perfectly Not - Author's notes, for the remainder of the story.**

**Perfectly Not**

**~O~X~O~**

**'BZZT!' 'BZZT!' 'BZZT!'**

He slapped his hand on top of the clock, silencing that god-forsaken buzzer. He cracked one eye open and looked around. The place was somewhat dim, but there was light in the room from outside. Gumball looked to his right. Darwin was strangely not in his fishbowl, or the room for that matter. He assumed Anais had also left as well. He checked the clock, just to make sure he didn't overslept.

**6:01**

He sat up and stretched his back out. Tuesday had come, not that it was any different than Monday. Gumball still had the feeling that today was still going to be worse than yesterday. He knew it was highly unlikely, but his gut told him otherwise.

He yanked off his nightshirt, tossing it in the corner with his other clothes. Jumping off the bed, he walked over to the closet and dug out a towel. He then made his way out of the room, closing the door behind himself.

Once again, Darwin and Anais were standing by the bathroom door last. He knew in his mind they were bound to speak nonsense into his ears. Holding in an eye roll, he stepped next to Darwin, but still placed some space between them. He starred at the ground, not wanting to look at anything that had a face or could speak with it.

"..." The silence felt deafening to Gumball.

"...Gumball," started Darwin, not that Gumball wanted him to finish.

"Just... don't."

"We're not trying to be any way to you, dude." Darwin stepped closer to his brother. "We're just worried about you, ya know?"

_'Liar...'_

"Okay," said Gumball, keeping his eyes locked on the floor.

"You could acknowledge our existence," grumbled Anais, somewhat loudly.

"I said okay... is that not enough for you?"

"It's fine-"

"You don't have to say it with an attitude," said Anais, bluntly.

"..." Gumball remained silent, closing his eyes tightly. Darwin looked back and forth between the two, not sure on who's side to take.

"Um... I think what Anais is trying to say, is that she wants you to speak a bit more, Gumball." Darwin glanced at his sister. "And right now, Gumball is just tired-"

"He always is tired." Anais rolled her eyes.

"It's not my fault," said Gumball, now looking at the two of them.

"How is it not your fault? You're the one who went to bed late." Anais shot Gumball a nasty glare.

"I went to bed at Nine. How is that late? Besides, it's not like you two have chores or homework to worry about..."

"Oh, shut up, Gumball."

The mood of the room had now dropped like a rock. Gumball starred at the two blankly for a few seconds before lowering his head and turning around. His tail was hanging low and didn't move an inch. Darwin looked back at Anais with an, 'what the heck was that,' look on his face.

"What?" asked Anais.

"Seriously? Wasn't that kinda harsh?"

"Like what he did at lunch yesterday wasn't 'harsh'..." Anais turned as their father stepped out of the bathroom.

"Mornin' kids!" he said as he skipped downstairs. Anais stomped in the bathroom and closed the door. The running water could be heard. Again, Darwin and Gumball were alone in the hallway, filled with silence and an awkward vibe.

"...Dude?"

"..."

"Are you okay, Gumball?" asked Darwin.

"...I-I'm fine," lied Gumball, gripping onto his chest tightly.

"Gumball, Anais is just-"

"Ahem." Nicole walked up to the two boys, carrying her purse in her hand. She walked over to Darwin and leaned down next to him.

"Remember when I said about giving him some space?" whispered Nicole. Darwin sighed.

"Alright."

Nicole glanced over at Gumball. He was facing away, and probably didn't know she was looking at him. She stood up and walked over in front of him. Her hands on her hips and her head tilted down.

"Is something wrong?"

"..."

"Gumball. Answer me." Nicole knelled down to his level.

"I'm tired..."

"When did you go to bed?"

"The same time you did," said Gumball, now looking up at his mother.

"Did you stay up last night?"

"...I had trouble sleeping for a bit..." Gumball could hear Anais stepping out of the Bathroom, walking downstairs, and Darwin walking inside and closing the door.

"So when did you go to sleep and how did you get to sleep?" questioned Nicole.

"...Nine-Thirty?" It was Gumball's best guess. "...Oh, and I m-"

Gumball slammed his hands over his mouth. Which, was actually a worse move because his mother now suspected something. She raised an eyebrow, scooting a bit closer to Gumball.

"You... what?"

Gumball kept his hands over his moth as he spoke. "N-Nothing."

"Hm..." Nicole's own mumbling made her realize what her son was about to say.

"...Oh."

Gumball could feel his face going red and the sweat pouring down.

"U-Um..."

Nicole stood up and walked over to the staircase. Before she went down, she looked back at Gumball, still holding his hands over his mouth.

"It's... okay, Gumball. I'm not mad at you for that." Her words had some firmness, yet were also gentle. "It's fine."

Gumball nodded as his mother went downstairs. As if on cue, Darwin walked out of the bathroom, a towel on his head. He looked at Gumball who was still standing in place. He simply sighed and went downstairs as well, leaving Gumball alone.

Reality came back, and Gumball shook out of his moment and ran into the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he kept his back on it. Heavy breaths left his mouth.

His mother now knew. She knew, and he hated it. Of all the things, this was one that Gumball couldn't stand people knowing about. His stomach turned at the thought of his mother talking about it later today with him. He could practically hear her voice, talking about his body and all the other things wrong with him.

"I-I-I... uh, UH..."

Gumball ran over to the toilet, falling on his knees and moving his head over it. His stomach started up, his whole body went rigid, and a loud gag left his mouth before he threw up once. A rather large amout of vomit came rushing out of his mouth. Gumball took a deep breath before another wave hit him and he threw up again, some of it hitting his chest. Wave after wave, he continued throwing up as the burning pain in his stomach grew. Snot and tears rolled down his face the entire time.

After a few more gags, Gumball had completely stopped. He slid down, sitting up against the bathtub with heavy breathing. He reached out and flushed the toilet, the sound of rushing water somewhat calmed him. He slowly crawled to the door and grabbed his towel, standing up on both legs.

He grabbed the end of his briefs, about to pull them down before noticing something. A small dark stain was in the middle of them. it was smaller than his hand. He went more red at the thought of wetting himself. He checked by the toilet making sure it wasn't a big mess. Dry, thankfully. He pulled his briefs down and stepped in the tub, turning the cold water on full. His face and chest were met with a freezing blast of water.

"Ahhhh..." moaned Gumball out loud, not caring if anyone could hear him outside.

He grabbed the soap and scrubbed his body down. Sadly, because of his vomiting ordeal, he had no time to do his favorite thing. Not that he wanted to. The previous confrontation with his mother pushed that idea far back in his mind already. And school had to be dealt with.

He shut off the water, shaking his body in the tub. He stepped out of it and grabbed his towel, wrapping it around his waist. He picked up his briefs as he stepped out of the bathroom and into his room. He shut the door and tossed his briefs again, in the corner of the room. He opened up his closet, Pulling out a Turtleneck red sweater, black shorts, and sadly, a pair of purple boxers. He hated them, but it was his only clean pair.

Slipping on his clothes, he rubbed the towel on his head before grabbing his other clothes and heading out the door. He went downstairs, looking at a clock on the wall.

**6:43**

He sighed, being glad he wasn't in the bathroom for an hour. He went over to another room where a washer sat alone. Next to it was a hamper, where he shoved his clothes inside. He finally went to the kitchen table. His family were already eating cereal and toast, which for once, looked appetizing to Gumball.

He took his seat, sitting in between Nicole and Anais. Obviously, his sister didn't look at him once, but his mother glanced at him for a moment. Gumball grabbed the box of cereal and poured some into his empty bowl. Setting it down after and grabbing the milk.

"...Oh," Nicole started. "I should let you all know we have a dentist appointment later today."

Everyone in the room froze up. And surprisingly, so did Gumball.

"Woah, woah, wait a second," said Darwin with his fins up. "Why didn't you say something yesterday?"

"Actually, I told you all last week. However, our dentist said he had to change his plans. I didn't tell you because I didn't think he would book us back in again." Nicole took a bite of her toast.

"D-Do we ALL have to go?"

"Yes, Richard. We ALL have to go." Gumball flinched, setting the milk down.

"Our teeth aren't that bad!" exclaimed Darwin.

"Darwin, you have two cracked teeth on one side, Anais has a cavity that's the size of your father's mouth."

"Hey!"

"Your father's teeth could fall apart any day now with everything he eats."

"I can work in a few more days!"

"And Gumball needs braces."

"..."

"We'll all go after scho-"

"**WAIT, WHAT?!**" Gumball stood up from his seat, causing everyone to jump. Nicole backed up a bit.

"Gumball! Don't-"

"Y-You never told me I needed braces before!" shouted Gumball.

"I never told you because, Gumball."

"Why?! What on earth could have kept you from telling me?!"

"Look, the last time we went, they said you couldn't get braces for a few months."

"Y-You still could have told me I needed them! That's no excuse!" Anais and Darwin had their jaws open slightly.

"Gumball, you can't just yell when... ugh..." Nicole placed a hand on her forehead.

"...Okay, alright. I admit it. so I might have..."

Gumball could clearly hear the last words she whispered, and they horrified him.

"You... forgot?"

"Gumball,"

"H-how on earth did you forget to tell me?" Gumball was about to have a breakdown, and Nicole could tell.

"Gumball, calm down."

Gumball moved his hands over his mouth. He could pratically feel the meta being placed on his teeth. He wouldn't go to school the next day, let alone want to. He knew all the names that would come about, all the kids laughing at him, making fun of him, and hurting him more.

"...Sweetie."

Gumball snapped out of it. Nicole was holding onto his shoulders, much like she did yesterday. But what was different was what she called Gumball. It was a word he heard her use with Darwin and Anais, but he couldn't remember the last time his mother called him, 'Sweetie' before.

"Please, calm down. I know you don't want them, but it's for the best. You won't even have them on for very long, either. It's just for a couple of months, okay?"

Gumball remained silent as he slowly sat back down in his seat, slumping over. He grabbed his cereal and slowly started eating it down, not looking away from the bowl. Everyone else quietly continued to eat their food. Nicole let out a sigh.

_'I should have said something sooner...'_

**~O~X~O~**

The kids were now grabbing their bags, getting ready for another day at school. Darwin kept a fin on his cheek the entire time, Anais looked troubled as well. Gumball, however, had a blank face. He barely showed any emotion to anyone or himself. When he picked up his bag, he followed his siblings out the door. His father slept on the couch as his mother kissed Richard on the cheek, following Gumball outside.

She was about to walk to her car, when she stopped Gumball by grabbing his shoulder. She whispered something to him quickly.

"I'd like to talk to you again before we go to the dentist later... alone."

Gumball knew very well what she wanted to talk about. He nodded as she went to the car and sat inside. The engine started up before she drove away to work. Gumball kept her words in her mind as he went to the bus stop.

Soon, he was now standing by the sign with his siblings next to him. It was dead silent, and he preffered it that way. Gumball looked up. The sky was more cloudy than yesterday. Practically a Grey sky above him. Gumball again, drifted off into a little daydream before the bus arived. He could see himself flying above the clouds and seeing a blue sky all around him. An escape from his sad and depressing life below.

His thoughts were short-lived, though. The bus pulled up and it's doors opened up. The three stepped inside and took a seat. Darwin and Anais sat together in a seat up front. Gumball looked around for an empty seat. Teri again, was open, but he didn't want to talk to her after yesterday's conversation. Looking ahead, a seat at the back was open, but some were already sitting there.

'...Dammit...'

Gumball kept walking forward, passing the other kids to the back seat. On the left, Tobias was sitting, flexing his arms and muscles all around. Carrie was placing as much space between her and Tobias as she could. Gumball sat in the middle of the two as the bus started driving off to school.

Gumball looked down at his feet and kicked them around lightly. It was the only thing to focus on that wasn't painful to look at. Sadly, and arm was shoved in his face from the side. A rainbow-colored one at that. It was skinny and bared no real flesh to speak of, in Gumball's eyes, at least.

"Wished you had these, don't you?" asked Tobias with a large grin on his face.

"..." Gumball spat in his arm.

"Ew ew ew! Watch it!" Tobias retracted his arm, rubbing it on his seat. Gumball simply rolled his eyes.

"You're gonna get it, dude!" Tobias stood up in a fighting stance.

"Sit down before you break your brain more," said Carrie, looking over Gumball.

"Oh, come on! You think I don't got this?"

"You know, Gumball is a bit bigger nowadays." Gumball looked down at his gut. He didn't think it was big. "He'd probably pop you out the window, let alone anyone else on the bus."

"Ha! You kidding? Anyone?!"

"Even Teri could. You're practically made of the same thing." Tobias grunted, crossing his arms and turning away.

"Oh, speaking of... Teri said something about you, Gumball."

'Oh god, oh god, oh god...' Gumball slowly turned to face Carrie, trying to not looked freaked out.

"W-What did she say about me, exactly?"

Carrie had a sly look on her face as she flipped her hair upward.

"She said you could blow yourself."

"..."

"I'm sorry. What the hell did Teri say?"

"You're more stupid than I thought." Carrie rolled her eyes. "She said you told her you could get your head down to your own junk."

"..." Gumball was blown speechless. It was the dumbest thing he had heard in ages.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Are you lying?"

"How can I be lying if I never told her that in the first place?!" Gumball looked across the bus, over at Teri. She was facing away from them.

"Sooo... you can't do it?"

"I don't know, but I sure as heck never said I did!"

"So wait, how do you know you can't do it?" asked Tobias.

"I never said-"

"Have you tried?"

"W-What the heck, man?!" Gumball scooted away from Tobias. "That's none of your business!"

"So, you've tried?"

"NO! STOP ASKING!"

Gumball crossed his arms, completely done with the conversation. He ignored all the dumb things said by Tobias as he waited to arrive at school. Thankfully, time moved quickly, and they arrived there in no time. Everyone flooded out the bus except for Gumball. He sat motionless in his seat as the bus driver got off the drivers seat and out the door.

"Kid, you gettin' off?"

_'...For the love of,'_

Gumball quickly jumped off the bus and ran inside. He passed multiple students and even knocked down a few as he ran into the nearest bathroom. He knocked on some stalls, making sure no one was in any of them. He stepped in one, and slammed the door behind himself.

**~O~X~O~**

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Mr. Gravel."

"Class, Today is my last Tuesday with all of you." Mr Gravel pulled out a stack of paper. "And I'd like to make it special for every-"

Gumball pushed open the door with great force. So much, that the eraser sitting on the blackboard slightly jumped up and fell on the floor. He looked as if he had been running and his face was strangely red in some places.

"...Watterson."

"Yeah, I know, late, late, late." Gumball walked to his desk and sat down, dropping his books on the desk also.

"Do try to be on time to class. That also includes no last minute appearances."

"Yeah..." Gumball sank lower in his seat.

"Now then, class. Today, I have something very special to tell you all."

Everyone (except Gumball,) leaned forward.

"In my time here, there will be only one more quiz for all of you."

Some smiles showed throughout the classroom.

"But there is a catch: it's pop quiz."

Everyone groaned in frustration (except Gumball,) as Mr. Gravel slowly started to hand out papers to everyone. Gumball rolled his eyes as a tiny stack was passed to him. He opened his desk and pulled out a pencil, wanting to finish up he garbage before him quickly.

"You all have thirty minutes," said Mr. Gravel as he sat behind his desk and picked up a rather large textbook.

The room went silent, save for the few turning of pages and the clock hanging above the blackboard ticking. A sense of dread filled the room slowly as the students, now practically mindless drones, continued to write down their answers. No one moved and no one whispered, either.

Gumball sat his pencil down, not bothering to double check his work. He crossed his arms and laid his head down on them, waiting for his opportunity to leave. His mind drifted off into the bathroom earlier when he had a bit of a test for himself. He did pass, but he wasn't sure how to feel about it.

_'I mean... I guess it's a nice thing... not that I can brag about it...'_

He peeked up at his teacher. He looked as if he was a statue just waiting to be tipped over. Gumball had considered the idea before, many times. Sadly, he never went through with it, and certainly couldn't now. Not after being grounded for even longer.

_'I should just run away. For like, freaking ever.'_

Running away was a good idea, had money, food, shelter, and being killed, not been an issue. He also had seen hobos before, and didn't like the way they turned out, with hair everywhere and asking for socks whenever you passed by them.

_'I don't even wear freaking socks when I go outside...'_

"Alright, hand in your papers, kids." Mr. Gravel stood up and checked the clock. "We still have some things to go over today."

**~O~X~O~**

Walking down the halls, Gumball kept looking at his feet and hoped he wouldn't hit a wall. His mind had abandoned all thoughts of bumping into someone, though. He thought about the previous night for a moment. All day he had not seen his siblings and was partially scarred to see them.

Anais would give him lip, and Darwin would probably stand there and let her. An image of strangling both of them popped in his head for a moment, but he pushed it away quickly. Running away seemed like a better idea to him. He snapped out of his mind when he hit a wall. Rubbing his head, he sighed.

_'Should have seen that coming...'_

Gumball looked around. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going. His next class would start soon, so he assumed it was that. He turned and kept on walking, some thoughts of his nagging siblings kept poking his head as well. He found the classroom and dragged his feet inside, not bothering to reply to the teacher who called his name for attendance.

"Alright, class, everyone sit down," instructed the teacher. She was a three-dimensional fairy composed completely of a wire frame. Her eyes were white squares that scarred some students whenever they shifted. Her wings were solid, but twitched like mad whenever she moved with them. While he wouldn't admit it, Gumball sometimes found her in his own dreams...

The _bad_ ones.

"Now then..." She looked through her papers, somewhat distressed. "We, um, have much to go over today."

_'Just like every other day,'_ thought Gumball, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Um... take these and, um, do... something." said the teacher passing out many papers. "All due, u um... next week."

Everyone kept passing around the assignments, and Gumball was sure to stay out of it. He knew very well the other students were mainly goofing off with it, and he just wanted the day to be over. Sadly, they wern't helping him.

"Um, class, this assignment was... No, Is... or-"

**'BZZZT!'**

**"Students, this is your principal speaking."** the man said over the speakers around the school. Everyone could hear some anger in his voice.

**"I want every student in this building to proceed to the gym. Now."**

Very quiet 'Oooh's and other hushed whispers drifted in the room as everyone got up and proceeded out the classroom. Gumball stayed in the back, not looking forward to a school-wide lecture about obediance or something similar to making this place feel more like prision than anything. The halls were flooded with students and the school staff as they made their way to the gym. It took nearly ten minutes to get inside as everyone was shoving to get through the doors.

Inside was the gym teacher holding a megaphone in one hand. Next to him was a tall skinny lady who resembled some kind of plant. In between the two was a tall and very blocky man with a suit and a face that spelled death on him. He took the megaphone and held it over his mouth as everyone was inside.

"Students of Elmore High school, it must be explicitly stated that you all must respect the school property, the staff, and most important, our beloved country."

"Fart-bag," someone whispered.

"...Someone, has not done the three I have stated..." He turned around and started to unfold some kind of cloth. After a bit of fumbling with it, he turned around and with both hands, showed the cloth to everyone.

It was just a normal, American flag that was similar to the one outside and in most classrooms. The problem was whatever was painted right in the middle. In a bright-saturated Green, a hand was plastered on it. Whoever painted it on there was obviously trying to make a point on something, as four of the fingers looked to be cut off from the hand. Red paint included. The only finger left was that of the middle finger, which made everyone's eyes pop out.

"I am going to make this as simple as possible... THIS-" He shook the flag forward a bit. "-is in no was **ACCEPTABLE** in this school."

"Whoever did this, step forward right now."

Every student stood motionless at the failed attempt of justice.

"...Whoever committed such an act, just know this: We will find out whoever you are. And you WILL be punished greatly..."

The principal folded up the flag and walked out of the gym, the lady followed him while the gym teacher simply scribbled in his clipboard. The students and staff left the gym and went back to their classes, however no one could really thing straight after that meeting and seeing the flag in such a horrible state.

No, this was something that simply had to be talked about.

Gumball kept his head on his desk and ignored all the whispers, note passing, and the teacher as he got lost in his own mind. He knew, along with everyone else, what that hand meant. It was only the most feared and talked about thing in high school ever since he got here.

_'...Signals...'_

Signals were a group of gangs that roamed Elmore for as long as Gumball could remember. While he never saw them in his neighborhood, they were all over the town at night. Hiding in dark corners and grouped up in random buildings. They were feared top dogs. Committing armed robberies, hijacking of more vehicles than cars, an underground network of computers that could practically shut off nearly half of Elmore's internet connection, and many more acts that would earn anyone a life sentence.

The group was much more complex than the name suggested. It was split up into many divisions, groups, rogues and criminals. All having some kind of connection and working together as one dangerous force.

While the principal wouldn't say it, everyone knew who pulled the stunt. A member of Signals was now in Elmore's high school. And when one member was around, there was a chance to get into the group. A small one, but nonetheless, a chance.

The last few minutes in class Gumball spent daydreaming about being in the group of criminals. Practically standing next to an unstoppable force, all the respect and praise from his friends and cohorts.

And killing every dentist that ever stood in Elmore.

**Author's notes redirected to forums. Gumball's Hollow Ponds Perfectly Not Author's Notes.**

**End of Chapter 4**


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